Chang Shu Hong: Dunhuang Casts the Five-Character Stele

Author: Ye Wenling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: Chang Shuhong (1904–1994), Chinese oil painter and Dunhuang scholar. Manchu ethnicity. Born on April 6, 1904, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and passed away on June 23, 1994. Graduated from the Dyeing and Weaving Department of Zhejiang Provincial Jiazhong Industrial School in 1923 and remained at the school to teach. In 1927, he went to France for studies, initially attending Lyon Sino-French University and Lyon National School of Fine Arts. In 1932, he enrolled in the Paris National School of Fine Arts to study oil painting. During his time in France, his works were selected multiple times for the Spring and Autumn Salon exhibitions and won gold and silver medals. In 1936, he returned to China and served as a professor and head of the Western Painting Department at the Beijing Art College. In 1944, he became the director of the Dunhuang Art Research Institute, where he worked long-term with colleagues on the restoration, arrangement, reproduction, and study of the Mogao Caves. After 1949, he also served as the director of the Dunhuang Cultural Relics Research Institute. From 1959 to 1962, he concurrently served as the president of the Lanzhou Art College. During the 1960s and 1970s, he held the positions of president of the Gansu Federation of Literature and Arts and vice president of the China Artists Association. In 1983, he was appointed as a visiting professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. His oil paintings excel in depicting figures and still life, blending techniques of Western oil painting with expressive forms of traditional Chinese painting, giving them a decorative quality. He published works such as Dunhuang Art, Selected Tang Dynasty Patterns from Dunhuang, Dunhuang Murals, Dunhuang Color Sculptures, Dunhuang, and Art of the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang.
This is a series of character-focused books that highlights historical photographs and visual materials. It is said that we are living in an image era, and this statement holds considerable truth. Regardless of television, film, and CDs dominating cultural consumption and reading trends, the sudden rise of old photographs, old cartoons, and old illustrations as historical relics demonstrates that people are no longer satisfied with experiencing life and history through text. Instead, they are increasingly inclined to read about people and history through historical images. Indeed, scenes of daily life, portraits, and even pages of manuscripts often capture readers' interest and inspire their imagination more effectively than descriptive text.
The protagonist of this book, Chang Shuhong, is a national hero who dedicated his life to protecting Dunhuang art. Getting closer to him is like being surrounded by the celestial music of Dunhuang, allowing one to deeply appreciate the sublime spirit and cultural integrity of Chinese intellectuals, as represented by him.